Shloka 22

Dyūta-āhvāna: Śakuni’s Proposal, Vidura’s Warning, and the Summons of Yudhiṣṭhira

Sabhā-parva 51

Devanagari script

तथैवेन्द्रायुधनिभान्‌ संध्याभ्रसदृशानपि । अनेकवर्णानारण्यान्‌ गृहीत्वाश्वान्‌ महाजवान्‌

Transliteration

tathaivendrāyudhanibhān sandhyābhrasadṛśān api | anekavarṇān āraṇyān gṛhītvāśvān mahājavān ||

Translation

तथैवेन्द्रायुधनिभान् संध्याभ्रसदृशानपि । अनेकवर्णान् अरण्यान् गृहीत्वाश्वान् महाजवान् ॥

Word by Word

तथाthus, in the same way

एवindeed, just

इन्द्रायुधनिभान्resembling Indra's bow (rainbow-like)

संध्याभ्रसदृशान्like twilight-clouds

अपिalso, even

अनेकवर्णान्of many colors

आरण्यान्wild, forest-bred

गृहीत्वाhaving taken

अश्वान्horses

महाजवान्very swift

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duryodhana

Indra (by reference: Indra’s bow/rainbow)

horses

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how ambition and rivalry often express themselves through acquisition and display of power—here, swift and splendid horses—suggesting an ethical contrast between seeking dominance through resources versus seeking peace through restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Duryodhana is describing the procurement of exceptional horses, using vivid similes (rainbow, twilight clouds, many colors) to emphasize their beauty and speed, as part of a broader account of readiness and competitive assertion.